"The fruit of the Spirit is… joy…" (Galatians 5:22)
We live in a sad world -- a world of despair, depression, lack of fulfillment, and dissatisfaction. Man defines happiness as an attitude of satisfaction and delight based upon present circumstances. He relates happiness to happenings and happenstance. It is something that can't be planned or programmed.
Biblical joy consists of the deep and abiding confidence that all is well regardless of circumstance and difficulty. It is something very different from worldly happiness. Biblical joy is always related to God and belongs to those in Christ. It is the permanent possession of every believer -- not a whimsical delight that comes and goes as chance offers it opportunity.
A good definition of joy is this: it's the flag that flies on the castle of the heart when the King is in residence. Christians can know true and lasting joy.
A Christian's joy is a gift from God to those who believe the gospel, being produced in them by the Holy Spirit as they receive and obey the Word, being mixed with trials with a hope set on future glory.
-- John MacArthur in a sermon entitled "Joy and Godliness: The Epistle of Joy"
#2671
Friday, December 10, 2010
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I don;t believe we live in a sad world as the author says. Many sad things happen to all of us, but I think our attitude and beliefs determine if we live in a sad world or a positive one.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy reading Sound Bites so much. Thanks, Dave for taking the time to find each of these thought provoking excerpts. It makes my day to read them and contemplate the message of the day.
Kris Searle